Summary: Numerous men from various industries have recently quit their jobs after sexual harassment scandals.
Now that the country has entered the #MeToo era, a number of prominent men have been fired from their jobs after accusations of sexual harassment or misconduct. These famous faces include Harvey Weinstein, who started the cultural tide shift, Today Show’s Matt Lauer, Netflix’s Danny Masterson, and more. But while some men don’t exit until they are terminated, what men have resigned or quit as a response?
In October, the New York Times published a damning expose about Hollywood mogul Weinstein and his three decades of alleged unchecked mistreatment of women. After the article was published, dozens of women came forward to accuse him of everything from masturbating in front of them without consent to rape. The downfall of such a bully and powerful giant prompted women and men from all industries to come forward, and in the past three months, over a hundred men in various industries have been accused of sexual harassment or misconduct.
These accusations have affected not only the entertainment industry, but also the legal realm. For instance, Judge Alex Kozinski, chief judge on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, announced his resignation in December after multiple clerks and junior staffers accused him of sexual harassment. Kozinski apologized for his behavior, which allegedly included asking staffers to watch porn with him, and he blamed it on his “broad sense of humor.”
Politicians from both sides have been accused of harassment, and instead of fighting the allegations, some like Minnesota Senator Al Franken or Kentucky House Speaker Jeff Hoover have chosen to step down. These types of decisions were prompted because colleagues publicly asked them to or because these men did not want to endure more backlash.
The following is a list of all the men who have resigned after being accused.
Law and politics:
- Judge Alex Kozinski
- Senator Al Franken
- Representative Jim Conyers
- Florida DNC Chair Stephen Bittel
- Ohio Representative Wes Goodman
- Kentucky House Speaker Jeff Hoover
- Representative Trent Franks
- State Assemblyman Matt Dababneh
- Representative Ruben Kihuen
- Representative Tony Cornish
- Senator Dan Schoen
- State Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra
- Senator Cliff Hite
Media, publishing, and business:
- NPR’s Michael Oreskes
- Celebrity chef John Besh
- Celebrity chef Mario Batali
- Paris Review editor Lorin Stein
- Tesla board member Steve Jurvetson
- The New Republic’s Hamilton Fish
- Artforum’s Knight Landesman
- Tech writer Robert Scobel
Entertainment:
- Music mogul Russell Simmons
- Amazon Studio’s Roy Price
- Transparent actor Jeffrey Tambor
- Producer Andrew Duncan
- Super Size Me creator Morgan Spurlock
- Producer David Guillod
- CBS Diversity Showcase director Rick Najera
- All the Men Recently Accused of Sexual Harassment
- 19 Hollywood Power Players Recently Accused of Sexual Harassment
- House Addresses Sexual Harassment Problem on Capitol Hill